Notes and disclaimers: The story you are about to
read is my own creation. The characters, however, stem from the brillant work of
Tachiwaka Megumi and are owned by Kodansha and TMS, whom I would like to thank.

I would also like to thank Ganymede for the myth reminder, and to ask my biggest
fan......do you like my story? *-*

Drawing out the mask from his pocket, Asuka Jr. began tying it over his eyes. Saint
Tail stood behind him, smiling. As the music from the concert hall began, he turned toward
her, arms extended; his whole posture bespoke trust. She took his hands first, lacing her
fingers into his and moved within the circle of his arms. Holding her one hand, he slid
his other around her waist, drawing her in. Her free hand came to rest on his shoulder,
and they began to dance to the soft music from below. For several minutes, neither spoke.
They slowly moved to the music, his cheek in her hair, both enjoying this intimate moment
of being, once again, in each others arms.

Saint Tail dropped her head onto his shoulder and he squeezed her waist. To her, he was
comfortable and exciting all at once, but he was something else too. Parts of her mind
kept pointing out this puzzle to her, and so far she had managed to ignore the voices, but
for some reason this evening they would not be silenced.

"Asuka Jr.?" she asked hesitantly. "Have you ever considered that you
arent in love with me, but with Saint Tail?"

He stopped dancing then and drew back from her a step. He didnt let go of her and
she didnt try to move away from him. To his credit, he looked like he was seriously
thinking about the question. She was sorry to have ruined the mood, but the sudden need to
know overwhelmed her.

"To answer your question," he began, "no, I have never separated the two
in my mind. I can see, however, where you could be worried. I could, in theory, be in love
not with the person, but with the persona." He paused again, considering. "I can
also see that, in theory, my love could appear to be based on the most superficial of
foundations." He pulled her closer, smiling; "Whatever its beginning
it's now stronger than the foundation under Tokyo Tower. In my mind, youre like a really
good book. I just havent gotten all the way to the end yet."

She looked at him, black mask over his eyes, and a smile on his lips. Reaching up,
Saint Tail gently pressed her hand to his cheek. "Please dont misunderstand
me," she pleaded. "I know you love me, I just wanted you to know."

Asuka Jr. leaned down, tilting his head, and she rose up and kissed him. At that moment
the song ended and applause erupted from the audience. The timing was perfect, and they
both sank back, laughing. Another song started, and they again fell into dancing. He
pulled her as close as he could, and she moved forward to help him.

The young detective sighed, hugging her fiercely. "Im always afraid when
youre near. It seems to be the night for confessions, so theres mine."

Saint Tail was surprised, but didnt stop dancing, almost knowing what was coming.
So when he didnt continue, she did.

"Youre afraid that Ill leave," she offered, "and well
never meet again. Youre afraid that someone else will catch me, and youre
afraid that I might get hurt in some way. Am I right?"

She felt him smile into her hair. "You missed one."

"Oh, what was that?"

"You missed the one where the tall handsome police officer steals your heart from
me."

Now it was her turn to smile. "I missed that one because none of them are going to
happen!"

His smile grew and squeezed her. "How long do you think we can keep meeting in
secret?"

"As often as I send you a challenge."

They lapsed into silence, moving to the music.

They had started coming together like this under a sort of truce. There was an unspoken
trust they had in each other, and for Asuka Jr., if it meant being blinded for the
duration of their meeting, he respected that and didnt complain. Saint Tail had
taken to leaving him a second, more personal challenge like the one this evening. The
score to the music they were dancing to, stolen by a rival composer and meant to make a
true genius look a perfect fool, had been returned in time for the concert. Saint Tail had
warned Asuka Jr. in the usual way, and he, and the police, had attempted to once again
catch the illusive Saint Tail. As she made good her escape she had slipped another
challenge into Asuka Jr.s pocket. It was as simple as, "Meet me on the balcony
near the trees and wear the mask."

This was their fourth such meeting. At the last one he had forgotten the mask and so
they stood back to back, holding hands, for a few moments. When he announced the
temptation was too great and that she should leave, she squeezed his hand and was gone.
Upon the spot, Asuka Jr. resolved to never be without the mask.

When the music stopped again she told him, as she always did, that they should go home,
that he should not attempt to follow her, and that when she was next needed she would send
him a challenge. He had clung to her then with an urgency that she returned in whispered
promises, being no match for his strength. When they finally parted, they were both
saddened, but looking forward to the next excounter.

Asuka Jr. sat reclining at his desk, hands behind his head, looking out the window. It
was a beautiful spring morning, and he saw none of it. It had been almost a month with
nothing from Saint Tail. He understood this meant her services were not needed, but this
meant that his werent either. As a future police officer, he recognized that this
meant all was right with the world, but as a lovesick teen, this sucked.

Dropping his chin onto his chest, he went over in his mind, for the ten millionth time,
the several times they had met. The longest had only been fifteen minutes, and he once
again marveled at the fact that they had seemed, at the time, both timeless and brief.

"Good morning, Asuka Jr."

Startled out of his daydream, Asuka Jr. found himself looking at the smiling face of
Haneoka Meimi. He sat up and returned her greeting. She immediately began talking, but he
didnt hear what she was saying, as his mind was now onto the fact that this girl had
the strangest effect on him. There was a part of him that liked her, and that part tended
to blush when she paid him to much attention. But she always blushed too, he pointed out
to himself. There was a part of him that hated her, especially when she paid him to much
attention. And there was a part of him that couldnt help but compare her to Saint
Tail. Sometimes she and Saint Tail were one and the same, sometimes they were as different
as two people could be. Currently his thoughts were mixed; a little bit of each was
looking at the long red hair, the height, and the voice. Especially the voice, which he
suddenly noticed, had stopped speaking. His eyes came into focus on her smiling face as
she stood, obviously waiting for an answer.

"Im sorry," he began, blushing, "what did--"

Sister entered the room causing people, including Haneoka, to rush to their desks. As
homeroom began, Asuka Jr. let out a soul-felt sigh, and wondered what she had been talking
about.

Every time they met, he held her with a bone-crushing grip. Sometimes she felt all the
air pressed from her lungs, and once he had lifted her off her feet, but she never once
said anything or moved away. She knew the reason why and had even gone so far as to tell
him so. Of course she had the same fears he had, especially the one about his heart being
stolen by someone else, but like the others, even this one melted into nothingness when
she would think, in the next second, of her trust in him. There was nothing she
didnt trust him with, including her true identity; it was just a game they played.
She little doubted that if he wanted to he could guess who she was. She knew him well
enough to know that he didnt want to guess, or to be told. She also knew that he
could never catch her, so the ball was always in her court. She liked it that way; knowing
she had power over him. Of course his power to fascinate was just as strong, she
just had the advantage of knowing who he was, while he was missing that vital clue.

Smiling at these thoughts, she rolled over onto her stomach, causing Ruby to hastily
scurry away. Meimi held the pilfered handkerchief to her nose for the tenth time that hour
and breathed deeply. Sighing, she dropped her hands.

"It doesnt smell anymore, Ruby," she whined.

Ruby made a sympathetic sound, drawing closer.

"I spoke to him today," she continued, "but he wasnt listening. He
had a far away look about him." She closed her eyes, picturing him. "He was
thinking of Saint Tail," she concluded with a knowing nod. Ruby came close enough to
touch their noses together. Meimi giggled and rose onto her elbows. "I think he
thinks about me a lot, dont you, Ruby?" Ruby made an affirmative mew and
snuggled closer. "I think hes wonderful, dont you, Ruby?" Again Ruby
agreed. "I think I need to steal another handkerchief!" Meimi concluded, rising
to her feet. Ruby giggled and rolled onto her back.

"The one Saint Tail stole " Meimi finished, and saw that he was back in
his body at the mere mention of the name.

"What?" he asked foolishly.

"The musical score that Saint Tail stole, remember? I have tickets to the concert
on its final night, would you like to go with me?"

This must have been what she was talking about yesterday, Asuka Jr. surmised. Looking
up into her blue eyes, he felt his color rise. "Yeah, sure," he stammered,
"Id like that."

She flashed him a dazzling smile and turned back to her desk. Asuka Jr. felt his
internal organs turn to mush in the after glow of that smile. He suddenly saw Haneoka in
the wedding dress at the Junior Design Contest and the internal melt down continued.

Walking her home after the concert, Asuka Jr. felt the evening was about as perfect as
possible. When he arrived to pick her up, he found her waiting for him in a burgundy
evening dress that left his eyes and jaw locked open. Her parents thankfully hadnt
lingered to witness his discomfort, and his father had dropped them at the concert hall,
promising to return when they called. Asuka Jr. remembered two of the musical pieces from
his slow dance on the balcony, and when Meimi had asked him why he was smiling he blushed
hotly and turned away. She squeezed his hand then, and said no more. During the final
movement, Meimis eyes had swelled with tears and he quickly offered her his
handkerchief, which she smiled at and accepted. Afterwards he had called his father and
explained that they wanted to walk home, which he agreed to. And now, arm in arm, as they
neared her house, Asuka Jr. began slowing his pace.

"You look stunning tonight," he whispered.

Almost, Meimi repeated what she had last said to this comment. She smiled and slid her
hand into his, enjoying the feeling of his hand without her gloves. "Thank you,"
she replied, "and thank you for coming."

He turned his head away and laughed. "I really had a good time."

"So did I."

He stopped before the gate of her house and turned toward her, feeling suddenly
awkward. She saw his discomfort and took charge of the situation.

"Asuka Jr." she began firmly, "I know..." but words failed her.

"Meimi-chan," he interjected into the silence, using her name for the first
time. "Its not what you think..." but then words failed him as well.

She flashed him a smile that turned his knees to rubber. "Do you know why I asked
you to join me tonight? Did you look at the program? Did you notice the name of the
suite?"

The program was in his free hand, rolled, at some boring point of the concert, into the
shape of a telescope. She dropped his hand and he looked at the tube. It protested being
unrolled by re-rolling and at first he couldnt understand what he was looking at.

"'Eurydice?'"

"Dont you remember in literature class we learned about Greek myths? About
how Orpheus lost his wife and traveled to Hades to get her back, but lost her again at the
last second?"

"Because he turned and looked at her," he finished, nodding, "I
remember." Then his head came up in surprise, recognition dawning on him. "You
were thinking of Saint Tail."

Her eyes took on a mischievous gleam. "No, I was thinking of you. When I
said I knew, I meant it. And I want you to know, I dont mind."

Asuka Jr.s mouth fell open. Before he could react further, Meimi stepped up,
kissed his cheek and let herself into the yard. "Good night, Asuka Jr." she
called over her shoulder, but then stopped at the door and turned to face him. He still
stood, galvanized and gaping. She flashed him a smile, and was gone.

Several of the boys in his class had asked him how it was that so many girls seemed to
like him, and standing there, before Haneokas house, he wondered himself. To have
the love of Saint Tail and the admitted affection of Haneoka Meimi seemed almost too good
to be true. How much better would life be if they were, in fact, one and the same?
Grinning at this thought, he reached into his pocket to draw out the mask, and managed to
also draw out his handkerchief. He smiled at them both, and brought the handkerchief to
his nose; it smelled of Meimi.

Meimi dropped her bedroom curtain as he turned to go. She held the new handkerchief to
her cheek, smiled, and happily spun in circles until she was dizzy.